The invention relates to the technical field of machines for dispensing and cutting strips of coiled material made of wadding or other material in order to ensure the dispensing of paper hand-wipes, general-purpose paper wipes, napkins, handkerchiefs and other articles. In particular, the invention relates to twin-roll dispensing machines, i.e. a machine that includes a first dispensing roll that is being unreeled and a spare roll that can be transferred to replace the former when the first roll is exhausted or nearly exhausted.
The Applicant has already developed such twin-roll machines, especially in French Patent. In this type of twin-roll machine, the reels of material have end fittings that are inserted into the reel holder, said end fittings being designed with a protruding stub capable of being used as a means to guide the reels along vertical slide rails formed on the body of the lateral sides of the machine as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,364,838. According to U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,726, the stubs are gripped by an articulated connecting-rod transfer mechanism capable of allowing the spare roll to be fitted instead of the roll that is nearly completely unwound.
With this technique, the reels of material include the reel holders and associated end fitting which permit and facilitate the actual transfer operation.
However, it appears that a very large number of reels of material do not have any end fitting and, as a result, as far as the Applicant is aware, there is no twin-roll machine for these types of reels. The difficulty is the ability to control a very large number of parameters including, in particular, the weight of the spare reel which, as it drops down into the bottom of the machine, is likely to exert a relatively large force. Consequently, this force must be controlled if one wishes to prevent the machine from being damaged at an early stage.